The Spirit Seed
by Sand and Mercury
Summary: An ocean to divide and a second to traverse, between madness and sanity, hope and despair, love and loss.
1. Anomalia

What is it in us, that drives us to be drawn irresistibly, to direct our gaze into the Void, when doing so can only bring the descent into darkness, and madness?

For so many centuries, I have pondered this. Until that fateful night, when I succumbed to temptation, for that one last time, and knew I was lost forever -- for I opened my eyes... and I saw the Void was staring back...

---

THE SPIRIT SEED

The world opened to the miner's eyes with the sound of a drill pounding mercilessly upon hard metal. The giant chisel, tall as ten men, had been spending the months pounding underground, extracting the wealth of uranium deposits that Xanatos' scanners had picked up deep below the Utah desert. The noise would've driven anyone insane, were it not for the high-quality sound proofing that the driller cabin possessed. All things considered, this wasn't a bad job -- the Xanatos empire paid handsomely even for the lowly jobs, and it wasn't every day you got to witness a billion gazillion dollars being dug out of the earth, or whatever.

Sam Riverside rubbed the dust out of his eyes for the millionth time -- the cabin was well sealed and seemed to keep enough sound out, but the dust from the earth seemed to seep its way in somehow. The giant chisel stripped away another chunk of precious metal in front of him, while the scavenger robots swarmed beneath, around the drill's tracks to scoop up the pieces and toss them callously into steel skips, to be carted up topside, lit under the glow of harsh neon headlights. The metal peeled back, layer by layer, each one darker and more rich than the last.

Which was why Sam was surprised, to find behind the last fissure, that there was light shining from within.

"What the hell...?"

The sight dazzled his eyes for a second, far too acquainted hitherto with the familiar inky black of a place in the earth where no natural light could reach. He punched the emergency shut-off button with his fist, lurching the cacophonously loud drill into graven silence, the kind only heard below ground.

Sam flipped on the UHF radio and patched into the radio of his line manager: "Princess, you there?"

The silence grew thicker around Sam's ears.

"Princess? Boss, you awake?"

The reply finally came, a raspy, baritone slur: "Whu... what?"

"We got any other tunnels in this sector of the mine?"

"No, we're the farthest tunnel out... what you been drinkin', boy? You reckon you hit one?"

"Well, I hit something... but it don't look like another tunnel to me. You might wanna come see this."

Sam waited for the response, and heard the boss coughing up a lung in the background, and the sound of bedsprings groaning under Princess' weight. "If this ain't somethin' important, I'm pullin' yer arms off."

The boss finally shuffled up from the back of the driller into the cabin, bashing the door open with his shoulder. For one with the nickname of Princess, he wasn't the homeliest of men. The cabin quickly filled with the aroma of Wild Turkey Kentucky Bourbon, and thick body odour. He grunted as he leaned over Sam's shoulder, so close that Sam could smell his breath, and checked the compass and nav data on the driller's Heads Up Display.

"Bearing's good," he finally said. He squinted at the glow, shimmering from between the cracks that lay ahead of them. "That ain't no tunnel."

"Then what you reckon it is?" Sam could feel the hairs on the back of his neck prickling up, one upon another. Something felt so very wrong about this, growing stronger with every passing minute. The panic began to swirl around his head like the most sickening flavour of incense.

Princess sighed, making a sound akin to a bear's throaty growl, and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a bent, half-destroyed cigarette. "Bust through it." He lit the cigarette and blew out slowly, fogging up the windscreen.

"Are you sure--"

"Do it, frog gut."

Sam stared blankly at the ignition, hoping to wake up soon in his apartment in Salt Lake city, and all he'd have to worry about was that he'd eaten all of his mushrooms and he had one hell of a hangover.

But he was a one and a half thousand meters below the ground, and he felt something very, very bad was about to happen. But he'd never been one to find his instincts overly trustworthy. He turned the key in the ignition, and the driller roared back into life. He engaged the drill, blasting away the dark metal crags, until the light was truly revealed.

"Holy... fu..." he started, voice fizzling out into stunned silence. He turned to Princess, standing over him, cigarette dangling precariously from his slackened bottom lip.

"Go in the back, get on the horn." he growled. "Make sure this gets back to Xanatos. Reckon we just found what he was after."

Sam was quick as a jackal to get out of his seat and leave the scene, squeezing past his manager in the cramped space and picking up a coating of grime as he did it.

Princess took another long drag of his cigarette, and reached for the cabin door to step out into the tunnel. The chunks of rock and uranium cracked and crackled beneath his boots as he walked, and he stopped at the edge of the tunnel's gaping maw.

"Jesus and Mary," he breathed.

Beyond the opening stood a sight intended for no human eyes; the dome-shaped was titanic, stretching out for what seemed like hundreds of kilometres, lit by a gargantuan spire, steeped in the centre of the dome like a brooding giant. Calm waves of dark viridescent water lapped up at the cavern wall a mere ten or so metres below Princess' feet. The light emanating from the spire bathed everything in its eerie green light, the bright crystal itself pulsating in a staccato of hues that were, quite simply, defied description. And out across that small ocean, stretched a galapagos of strange islands, organic, brain-like entities that housed each what looked to be a veritable city unto itself.

For all the bitching, cynicism and wisecracks he'd been spouting off in the months prior, it could not be denied now. The Anomaly existed.

He felt his heart flutter; Xanatos would be beside himself when he heard the news, and with Sam and himself as the first to happen upon it, Princess could see himself sitting on the front porch of his own private luxury mansion for the rest of his days, sipping thirty year-old bourbon and shooting the crows. The thought brought a grin to his face that he couldn't keep down -- he'd never even wanted to do this stupid work in the first--

His train of thought derailed with the noise of scraping rock. He hadn't moved.

He turned back to the digger, facing into its bright headlights, but Sam was nowhere to be seen, nor anyone else.

The sound came again, from behind him this time, and he reached towards his pocket for his sidearm, a .38 revolver. He pulled the hammer back, hearing it quietly click, and listened. There was nothing, save the dense silence of the underearth, and his own quickening heartbeat.

"Oi, Sam!" he hollered, still looking out over the lip of the tunnel's mouth and down, checking for the source of the noise. "If that's you playin' foolery with me, you're gonna be sorry!"

The response came from behind him. A low, strained yewl, curious, and amused. "Soooooorrrrryyyy."

Curious and amused... and terrifying, far beyond measure.

"SAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMM---"

---

Elisa Maza had never been the greatest fan of snow. Even the novelty of its first settling in the Winter had long lost its appeal to her -- but still, on the 24th of December, she wouldn't have given it up for anything.

There was something inexplicable about the feel of Christmas that always lifted her spirits. The thought of the name of the month made her smile, even, conjuring thoughts of lazy evenings, the sound of childrens' laughter, the smell of fresh roast turkey and caked with the spices her mother had prepared year after year (and always adding just a hint too much season-all to the dish). She coveted every second of her precious double week off, and nothing was going to spoil it this year. There were always a few exceptions, but even the bad guys seemed happy to take it easy at Christmas time.

When she arrived at the door to her parents' apartment, she could already hear her sister's shrieking laugh coming from within. She took off her thick winter trenchcoat, and hung it up on the hanger as she entered.

"Knock knock!" she hollered, as her family got up from the dinner table to exchange hellos and I've-missed-yous.

"Elisa!" Beth was first, giving her sister quick squeeze and a peck on each cheek. "What took you so long? Don't imagine there'd be much traffic out tonight."

"I... overslept," she replied, giving a yawn as she did so. It was no lie either -- ever since those blasted gargoyles had come into her life she'd found herself going completely nocturnal. It didn't bother her really, though Christmas shopping got difficult when everything was closed. Now, since it was still only six in the evening, she considered this an early start. "How've you been, Beth?"

"Great," she said. They began walking back over to the dinner table, where the smell of that too-seasoned turkey was coming from. "When I'm not pulling my hair out over exams, things've been peachy. You know how it goes."

Elisa laughed at that. "No, not really." They both knew Elisa hadn't bothered with tertiary pursuits. As soon as she'd gotten out of high school, her first stop had been the academy.

"They've got to stop you from pulling night shifts all the time," her mother was saying as they all sat.

"Hah. That'd be the day."

"Literally?" Peter grinned. No one made any attempt to mask their disapproval of the joke, which made him grin all the wider.

The air was alive with the clatter of cutlery, the chatter of family and the murmur of the Disney Christmas specials on the TV in the background. It was something that Elisa hadn't been used to for a while -- family gatherings, normalcy, afternoon dinners. Maybe being normal just wasn't the way Elisa was meant to go... but for the moment, she was happy to revel in it, and just forget about the things she'd done and the places she'd been over the last two years.

"So, now that we're all here..." Diane began.

Elisa looked ahead at the empty chair across from her.

Derek's chair.

No, things weren't normal. They never would be.

Elisa looked at her mother blankly. "But we're not all here."

Peter was the first to give that pained, guilty frown. "Elisa, I think Derek understands."

"Understands what?" she gave a giggle with her response, the kind that indicated little in the way of humour. "Am I missing something here?"

"He didn't want to come last Christmas either, you know that." Beth frowned. "I thought we all agreed that this was the best way to go about things."

"Yeah..." Elisa sighed, staring down at her empty plate. "Well, as long as you invited him to do this, I guess there's not much more you can do."

No one spoke. Diane fidgeted in her seat a little.

Elisa's eyes narrowed. "You... did invite him this year, didn't you?"

Mickey's Christmas Carol in the lounge suddenly seemed to be playing at a deafening volume.

She put a hand over her forehead. "Oh my God, I can't believe this."

"Please, Elisa," Peter started.

"Don't 'please' me," Elisa retorted. "You're acting like he's dead or something. Is it really that hard to extend even an invitation to something like this?"

Diane quietly poured herself some water as she spoke. "You know people wouldn't react nicely to the sight of him strolling down the halls here as he is."

"Would it have killed you to consider, just maybe, stopping down in the labyrinth for a hello?" She looked at Beth. "Don't you think?"

Beth had decided it was important to give her serviette as perfect a fold as possible at this moment. She watched the paper starting to crumple between her fingers.

"Come on, now..." Peter tried again. "Let's just enjoy the evening for now. This only happens once a year."

Elisa felt a synapse snap in her head. The irony of that statement was too much for her to express with the sarcasm she felt due, so she resorted to heaving in a deep sigh. Her chest was tightening up with impotent anger, and she suddenly felt the overwhelming desire to leave, before she caused any more of a scene. She carefully pushed her chair out from the table, and stood up.

"I'm sorry, Dad. But I can't do this," she said, using all of her self-control to keep her voice measured. "I can't sit by while my little bro gets the cold shoulder from his own family, and then have you all acting like everything's hunky-freakin'-dory. I'm no happier than you or anyone else about what happened to him, but he made his choice to stay the way he is. And I've learned to respect that. I thought you all had, too." She stepped away from the table and picked up the bag full of gifts she'd brought, letting her long locks of smooth hair cover her face. "I was wrong."

"Elisa, sit down now! Please!" Diane shouted, starting to shake. Peter reached over to rest his hand on hers.

Nothing they could say would convince her to stay and play out this charade, Elisa had decided. We all make our choices -- they'd made theirs.

"I'll drop by tomorrow," she said as she turned to leave, tossing the gift bag under the tree. "Merry Christmas and all that."

She couldn't even hear the door slamming behind her. All she could hear was the searing wind in her head.

The hum of the Fairlane's engine did little to calm her as she drove down the scarce, snow-filled streets. If all it takes is an exterior change to break the ties of family, just how much substance is there to the whole concept? What could possibly see an intolerant bunch of spoiled brats through when they'd cast out anyone that was different, even those that they'd held closer than their own heart just before?

No, it wasn't just her family that was this way. It was people. People that were afraid of the unfamiliar, and be content to let that fear dissolve the bonds that could've brought them closer together.

What if it were me? She wondered. What if I were a...?

She thought of the clan. A different kind of being, a stronger kind. A kind of family where brothers and sisters would walk through fire to save the ones they loved. A kind that knew their place, knew their purpose. A kind with no fear.

She thought of Goliath. She thought of his words, his promises, that would never break or weather even in the harshest of tempests. Maybe the bonds weren't in blood. Maybe we only bond because we're forced to stay together. Maybe what keeps family close has nothing to do with faith and trust and everything to do with circumstance and necessity.

The snow seemed to be falling more slowly now, as she pulled up at the traffic lights. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

What if it were me? She wondered.


	2. Angelos

ANGELOS

Where lay the line that separates a home, from a prison?

Perhaps it is the emotional aspect, or the social, that differentiates. Perhaps it is the physical comforts and the illusion of safety. All I have learned, is that with time, the line blurs. And finally it is erased. I have listened to so many voices that speak unknowingly to me but the sound is always the same -- the sickly bleating of a billion feeble-minded lambs, born with the gift of sentience and yet content to squander it on their own selfish pursuits. Each one alone, stranded, but so content in their ignorant ways. Every word spoken beckons the bile to rise in my throat.

Our fates are sealed by our own hand, and every man, woman and child has already sealed theirs. What they do not realise is that transcendence for their kind is out of the reach of the simple and content. They forget that there is no home here upon this ball of rock… only the narrow hall to file through, happily unaware, before the inevitable slaughter.

I hold the cleaver.

---

The sun was still reflecting bright upon the glossy streets, when Elisa pulled up in the car park of the Eyrie Building. She hadn't arrived here of any conscious intent -- in fact she'd wanted originally to visit her brother down in the Labyrinth, but her brooding and seething had led her here instead. She took a deep breath as she engaged the hand brake, and sat for a moment, listening to the V8 engine purring noisily. Now or never. She turned off the ignition, stepped out and took one more look to the top of the skyscraper before she headed for the front door.

---

"Yes, yes. I'm very pleased indeed. There's no doubt that we'll see some amazing results come of this."

David Xanatos, CEO and founder of the multinational conglomerate Xanatos Enterprises, was wearing his stiffest business suit and an even stiffer smile as he shook the hand of Jonas Engelin, CEO of another multinational conglomerate, in this case a Swedish one that specialised in the research and development of neural networks.

"I'd still recommend we hold back on the press release of this merger," Jonas was warning. "After all, this will come as a surprise to the public, especially the Swedish demographic. In my country, my company has been without peer in this field until now. I'd fear a backlash if we were to announce that we'd just been swallowed up by Xanatos Enterprises, at least without a major product to announce along with it."

"Of course, yes." Xanatos responded. They were standing in his private office, and even with the blinds half-drawn it was difficult for Engelin to help squinting with the sun setting in his eyes. "Once the Lithium AI makes enough headway to merge with the codebase I've developed for my Gargoyle Suit, and it's considered stable enough for demonstration, perhaps?"

Jonas took a sip of his coffee and smiled a plastic smile, leaning back in his seat. In truth he was none too pleased with the merge, but even so, the Lithium AI was in its infancy, the company was secretly billions of dollars in debt, and choices were scarce. If he had to pay with his pride to get this project finished, then he was willing to compromise -- barely. "We think very much alike, Mr. Xanatos."

"Please, call me David." Xanatos' phone began ringing, and he instinctively reached over to the 'reject' button. When he saw it was Owen calling, however, he relented. "Excuse me, Jonas." He picked up the receiver. Jonas cringed every time he heard Xanatos pronounce his name with a 'J' sound.

"Forgive my interruption, Mr. Xanatos," Owen began on the other end of the line. "I've just received a call from the chief operations officer of the Utah Excavation."

Xanatos pulled nervously at his tie with anticipation. "And?"

"They claim to have discovered the Anomaly, sir."

"It's real?" he could feel his eyes widening with the news. "Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I'll give you half an hour -- please have my jet ready, and cleared for the flight in that time. And preferably a hotel not too far from the dig site. You'll be fine with taking care of Alexander until Fox gets home tomorrow?"

"I'll be quite fine, sir." Owen cleared his throat. "Shall I inform Fox of your departure?"

"She doesn't need to know about this yet," Xanatos responded, flicking his gaze to Jonas sitting across from him, who was waiting patiently, and back again. "I'm still a little weary after the last time she came into contact with a artifact of fabled great value and power."

"If I may, Mr. Xanatos...?"

"Go on."

"You don't think that she might be upset that you've chosen Christmas Day to follow this up?"

"Probably," he admitted. "She'll get over it though. This'll be a present for both of us."

"I'm sure. I'm seeing that Elisa Maza has arrived in the building, is it okay to see her up to the castle?"

Xanatos looked at his watch impatiently. "As long as you know them and they're not carrying a hammer and chisel, I don't care who you let into the castle. Just send the word to my agents to get my flight ready."

"I'll see to it right away," Owen conceded. "But I must warn you first--"

"Excellent. Thankyou, Owen." Xanatos hung up before Owen could get another word in. He looked at the unsigned contract sitting on the desk between Jonas and himself, and quickly pulled out a felt-tip marker. "Sorry Jonas, but we'll have to get this wrapped up quickly. I'm a busy man, you understand." He slid the contract over to his corporate peer, and clicked the pen.

Jonas frowned as he took it, and carefully scrawled his initial upon the paper. "Surely, aren't we all..."

---

Fifteen minutes later, Elisa was standing in front of Owen in the Eyrie Building foyer.

"My apologies for the wait, Elisa," he said in monotone, taking her hand to give it a stiff shake. "We didn't expect you during the day, of course. And today has been rather... hectic."

"Typical Christmas Eve in Xanatos land, I take it?" Elisa smirked.

Owen carefully reached up to adjust his glasses. "You could say that. Now, you may join the gargoyles up in Wyvern if you wish, though the sun will not have set completely for another half hour. If you'll excuse me, I have to attend to Alexander for his..." he paused, suddenly realising he'd divulged more than he was comfortable with. He had a thousand things on his mind keeping up with Xanatos' hectic schedule.

Elisa smiled knowingly. "His... tutoring, I take it?"

The Executive Assistant indicated no outward trace of emotion save for mild disinterest. "Yes, tutoring." He turned and began heading for the lift, but was surprised when he found Elisa was following him. He quickly pressed the lift button as he stepped into the elevator, but Elisa got her hand in, forcing the doors to stay open.

"You don't mind if I sit in on it, for a bit?" she grinned.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like where you're going with this?" Owen's glasses shimmered against the artificial glare of the light above them.

"Well... Puck," Maza started, and watched him fidgeting as she used the name. "There's something you might be able to demonstrate for little Alex's lesson tonight. And as a favour, for me." She wasn't smiling anymore.

"Okay. Three things," Owen's eyebrows began showing the slightest crease. "Firstly, my name is Owen. Secondly, this is not something that I'll abide by you speaking of when there are low-level company staff present. And thirdly, Miss Maza, no. Absolutely not."

"You haven't even heard what I'm asking yet. Trust me, it won't be anything earth-shattering. And I'm sure Oberon wouldn't mind if the tyke can learn something from it." She realised her bottom lip was quivering, and bit down on it hard. "Please?"

Owen stared her down carefully, the crease between his eyes becoming ever so slightly more apparent. Finally, he sighed, and reached for the elevator's keypad again. "Get in."

---

"So you want me to make you a gargoyle again." Puck's colourful voice and expression had taken over the typically stoic exterior of Owen Burnett. They were sitting in one of Xanatos' plentiful lounge suites, while Alexander sat between them, dribbling happily as he pushed a Matchbox replica of the green and yellow 47 racecar from Days of Thunder along the impeccably clean rug. "Do I even need to question your impetus for making this request?"

Elisa nodded. She'd walked into the building earlier sporting her hard-headed, snarky expression usually reserved for Xanatos and his cronies, but the realisation that she was pleading for help now, was quickly sapping her of her bravado. What was left was a side of Elisa that Puck hadn't seen yet -- a scared, desperate, determined little girl. "Please, Puck. I need you to do this for me. I won't ask another thing of you." She shut her eyes tightly, her thoughts flickering back between thoughts of Goliath, her family, Derek, Matt, Chavez. "This is what I need to do... I can feel it..."

"Love," Owen/Puck sneered, and was amused even more to see Elisa whipping her head up to meet his eye, at the mention of the word, "will make you feel the 'need' for all sorts of silly things."

"Look, can you do this, or can't you?" Elisa surprised herself to find that she was struggling to vocalise the words. "Name your price. Whatever it is, I'll pay it."

Puck leaned back in the comfy leather chair, bringing his hands together and interlacing his fingers. He still had Owen's form, but his eyes glimmered with the look of the trickster. "Ah, yes... as much as I'd adore holding you to ransom for such a trivial action on my part, I'd be overstepping the bounds that Oberon set for me if I were to ask for compensation. As far as I'm concerned, this is for Alex's learning, not your gain. And trust me..."

Puck leaned forward to look Elisa in the eye, watching slyly as he picked up all the feelings emanating from her. "You'll still be paying a price for this. And it'll be a bigger one than you thought." When her gaze didn't budge, he drove the point home: "This is the last chance I'm giving you to change your mind."

Elisa shut her eyes. "Do it."

"Delightful!" Puck laughed, leaping to his feet, only now taking the opportunity to morph into his true form with a flash of light. He snapped his fingers, making Alexander divert his attention from his toys immediately. "Now, my boy. Pay close attention here. Are you paying attention?"

Alex sat up cross-legged on the carpet, mouth agape in fascination. "Doggie."

It seemed to Elisa that the kid was sensing what was about to happen her far more acutely than she was, which made her all the more uneasy.

The room began to turn dark, and Puck was lifted off the floor by a miniature tornado that enveloped his body, making his hair and clothes go awry. "Oh, and before I really get this going..." he shouted over the whipping winds. "You might want to remove that jacket of yours."

Elisa got to her feet, placing some distance between herself and the two of them, and waited anxiously, not at all sure of the sensations she was about to experience. She'd gone through this before, but it had felt different last time... not so...

Permanent?

"And so it begins," Puck shrieked over the din. "Elisa Maza, human born,

"Upon this night, be human no more.

"To live now under the moon's gaze,

"The night now eternal, the end of all days.

"From this day forward, till buried in soil,

"Now known henceforth, Elisa, Gargoyle!"

A pure green energy swirled around the elf, and arced slowly above. Before Elisa could say a word, it struck out at her like an enraged snake, wreathing her body with ethereal fire.

"Ohh... aaaah!" the sensation was otherworldly. Elisa was helpless before the surge as it lifted her off of her feet, sending her tumbling through the air like a rag doll, yanked hither and fro to the whims of the magic. Her skin crackled with white hot electricity, and she could do nothing to resist the bubbling energies that now pulsed through every inch of her body. Her heart was beating faster than she could ever recall, and for a panicked moment thought that it was going to explode.

Just when she felt that her mind and body could stand no more, the fire was snuffed. She fell limply to crumple to the floor in an exhausted, battered heap.

Puck landed daintily on his toes, and skipped over towards her, to help her to her feet. "Now wasn't that fun?" he called over to Alexander, who was now clapping his hands together with giddy approval. "Now, my dear, how do you feel?"

Elisa reached up with a shaking hand to take his, and righted herself on her knees. "Like I just stuck my finger in an outlet…" she moaned, rubbing her forehead. It was now that she saw her hands. Familiar old human hands, just as they'd been before.

She reached around to her back but found no wings had sprouted from it. Her skin bore none of the leathery properties she'd felt of a gargoyle. By all methods of telling, she was still Elisa Maza.

"What...?" she whispered with disbelief, then looked up to Puck. "I'm still human!"

The trickster seemed less than pleased with the outcome here. "Hmm. It would seem so." He rubbed a hand on his smooth chin thoughtfully. "I was so certain that I did the spell right. I even got the incantation to rhyme! Do you know how hard that is to do, right off the bat?"

"Puck!" Elisa staggered to her feet, and took a shaky lunge at him. "You little f--" she tripped over her own feet, still dizzy from the spell, and tumbled into one of the leather lounges, toppling it over.

Puck needed only to take a single step to the side to avoid her charge, and burst into a fit laughter at the sight.

"Veeery smooth, Miss Maza! And hey! You made a rhyme too!" he sniggered, putting his hands on his hips. "Albeit, not one very befitting of such a lovely lady. Now let me think... what could I have missed?" he turned to the curtains of the room and realised they were still drawn. "Ah, of course!" he said, snapping his fingers. "Where is my mind today...?"

Elisa was still dragging herself to her feet when she took notice of him wafting over to the window. "Wha...?"

"Goodnight Elisa!" Puck yipped, yanking the pull cord for the curtains and drawing them open.

Sunlight flooded into the room, the bright glare making Elisa double back. "What are you--?" she put her arm out to shield her eyes, and felt something tingling in her fingers. "Huhh...? Aaah!" she gasped, staring at her outstretched hand in horror, and looked back at the elf. "What's happening?"

It took mere seconds for the sensation in her arms to disappear, replaced by cold, heavy rock. Waves of sheer panic washed over her body and mind, her pounding between every sharp, desperate breath. Inch by inch, she watched herself turning to stone.

Then, everything went dark.

Puck stood and took a moment to observe the human statue, arms folded. "Well, that's that, I guess. I think that's enough for today's lesson, wouldn't you say Alex?"

Alex stared back in quiet amusement, sucking his thumb. "Doggie."

The elf frowned. "M'yeees... I don't think your father will be very pleased about this either, little one. Perhaps I should've thought of that earlier."

A moment passed before he turned up his palms: "Oh well! Ha-ha, ha-ha!"

He scooped the lad up in his arms, switched off the lights and headed for the lift.

---

The last rays of the sun finally left the battlements of Castle Wyvern -- and while New York settled to sleep, the gargoyles awakened.

One by one, each of the stone statues began to crackle and splinter, until the rock gave way to thick, corded muscle and ages-old cloth. The debris scattered in all directions as the protectors of the night burst from their shells, giving a primal roar as they shook themselves free of the icy refuse.

They were still yawning as they moved together to discuss tonight's plans for patrol. Brooklyn took in a deep breath, inhaling a mouthful of snow as he did so, and looked about himself. "Looks like it's been snowing all day. Haven't seen snow like this since the old days."

"I believe I've seen far wilder tempests in the recent times…" Goliath spoke, his voice deep and resonant. "But I concur that this weather is likely to keep the majority of our city indoors tonight… which should mean an easy night for us."

"Yeah," Lexington squeaked. "Guess we've got a little Christmas of our own when you think about it like that, but I still wanna go somewhere. Maybe we could try that ice skating thing that all the humans seem to be crazy about?"

"Whatever, I'm easy." Brooklyn shrugged.

"I'm in!" Angela grinned, and gave Broadway a nudge with her elbow. "Broadway's in too."

Broadway looked down at himself, and shrank back a little. "I think I'll pass on the skating part… but I'll still hang with you guys, if you're going." He looked over to Goliath and Hudson, both keeping a their distance from the young guard. "What about you two?"

"While it does sound nice and all," Hudson sighed, "I have made a promise to visit the Jeffrey Robbins tonight, to wish him well for the holiday."

All eyes fell on Goliath, waiting for his answer. "I'm quite content to stay behind and guard the castle for tonight with Bronx. I could use the respite for the moment." He leant over to give Bronx a scratch behind the ears, and gave a weak smile.

"Oh, sure, Father." Angela grinned. "Don't play coy with us. We know who you're waiting for tonight."

The clan leader gave a hearty laugh, choosing not to take offence. "I could not lie to you all regarding my sentiment towards Elisa," He folded his wings around himself. "but she will be with her family. Tonight is their night. Now please, go and enjoy yourselves. I'll not be going anywhere."

Brooklyn turned to brace himself for the flight. "Suit yourself." With a great leap, he threw himself out into the Manhattan sky, the others quickly following suit.

Hudson gave Goliath a friendly clap on the shoulder. "I'll be seeing you, lad." And then he too, was gone.

The lavender giant stood for a moment with his arms folded, watching the snow cascading down towards the earth, and taking in the sights and sounds of the city below. He never tired of the ability to simply sit and marvel at this brave new world the humans had built for themselves, a sprawling hive of activity without end. As protectors, he knew that his kind would never see their work truly finished, until the last of them drew breath. The thought was simultaneously dismaying, and comforting.

"Come, boy," he spoke down to Bronx as he turned towards the main hall. "Let us enjoy the warmth of the fire inside." The Manhattan watchdog trotted after him happily, licking his chops; he'd learned by now that a warm fire for Goliath typically meant a juicy steak for him.

Goliath gave a wan smile to the air as he walked. It had been a long time since he'd been able to enjoy a solid night of solitude. He had been learning to keep a respectful distance from the rest of the clan lately, and found more to relate to now in the sagely temperament of Hudson than the fiery zest of the younger clan members. It was not to be implied that he felt at all awkward around them, but he remembered the times that he had been young as well, and had hated the times that older clan members had tried too hard to assert their leadership and come off as smothering or overbearing. After all, they were gargoyles; they could take care of each other just as well as he.

He readied the fireplace in the great hall, and after lighting it and settling Bronx with a hearty slice of cow, pulled up a chair in front of the fire and flipped open one of the books he'd started reading ages ago and never finished: John Milton's seminal epic, Paradise Lost.

As he began to absorb the tale of Satan's journey into the Garden of Eden, his attention was diverted to the chime of someone arriving in the elevator. "Good morrow to you, Owen."

"Good evening, Goliath," Owen said flatly, giving a nod almost imperceptible. "I have someone here to see you."

Goliath took the tome and set it face-down upon his lap. "Would I be wrong to assume it is Xanatos? Does he not have a family of his own to attend?"

"Yes, you would be." the executive, said using his stone fist to push his spectacles up. "I will leave you two alone." He tidily stepped back in the elevator.

The gargoyle gently set his book down on the table beside him, and rose to greet the visitor.

When he saw her emerge, he stopped in his tracks, sucking in a sharp breath between his teeth. His heart seized and stood still, a bitter chill coiling around his spine.

No, he thought. This cannot be. How could it…? "E… Elisa?"

"Mhm…" She stepped out of the lift shyly, her newfound wings, the wings of a gargoyle, ensconcing herself.

Her nerves were shot to pieces, her heart was hammering against her chest like a piston. It took all of her courage to finally look him in the eye. "Hi…" Her stare quickly darted away.

"It cannot be you…" Goliath could sense no earth beneath his feet as he walked over to her. In disbelief, he outstretched a shivering talon to trace the smooth contour of Elisa's wing, bringing it up slowly to rest upon cheek. She lifted her head to stare at him with those big brown eyes, looking into his with a depth that defied fathoming. "But it is…"

He jerked back suddenly, sitting his paws upon her shoulders. "But why? How…? Who did this to you?" He felt a pang of anger slithering in to dilute the rapture that pooled in his heart.

"I did…" she smiled at him, her eyes glossing over.

He was numb with terror and joy and astonishment. The shock was overwhelming -- the obvious differences between Elisa and himself had been at times infuriating, given how he felt for her -- but at the same time they had also provided them both with a feeling of security, where they did not need to fear what would become of them if they were to give into their emotions. But now, the ocean had parted. The impossible had become possible.

"But--"

"Sssshhhhhh…" she hushed him. "It's alright, Goliath…" and reached up to lift his heavy talon from her shoulder and press it firmly over her heart. He could feel the beat of it through her chest, mirroring his own. "There's only one thing that matters now. Now there is nothing, nothing, that can come between us again." she said.

She moved in closer to him, shaking like a leaf, and wrapped her arms around his waist, clutching to him for dear life. He listened to her exhaling with purpose and relief, and he felt the coils in his own chest begin to unwind with it.

"Elisa, I…" Goliath started, but cut himself off to recompose his words. "Elisa, in all the time since the night that Demona had used the mirror, I had never dared dream that this moment would come to pass…"

"Well…" she whispered, looking up at him affectionately. "It's true now. This is our moment."

He quivered at the statement. "Yes… our moment. Now and…"

"Forever," she finished the sentence for him, making his eyes flood with tears. He had known those words before, but never prior had he realised how much they could mean. He gently embraced her, wrapping his wings protectively around the both of them.

"Whatever's happened in the past, Goliath, I'm here for you now…" she whispered, so quietly that no one else could possibly have heard, no matter how close. "And I'll never leave you now… my…"

Love?


	3. Dubitare

DUBITARE

Love?

I had known love, once, back when I was young and naive. But with time its taint has gradually left me. What is love, I had wondered once. Now I know. It is nothing that we need. It is the chemical impulse in mankind that drives them to selfishness and depravity. It is what has kept life on this planet from evolving. It is a blinding, putrid light.

---

"Come on, Broadway! This is great!" Angela seemed to glide across the ice in the Central Park's lake like she was born for it. A gargoyle didn't need skates for this; their talons had proven perfectly suitable for the purpose. She used her wings to balance herself, reflecting upon the ice in the moonlight.

"But…" Broadway looked about himself nervously, using utmost caution as he placed his toe upon the surface of the ice, already flailing his arms wildly for balance. "What if I fall?"

"So what if you do? Get up and try again!"

The sea-green gargoyle dug his toes hard into the ice. "I dunno if there'll be much to skate on if I do…"

Angela swept across the surface easily, and slowed to take him gently by the hand, turning around and placing it at her waist. "Just take it slow… hold on to my hips." Reluctant at first, Broadway complied, and as Angela began to take him out towards the centre of the frozen sheet, he felt his confidence building, and eventually let go. They began laughing as the circled each other, forming a perfect picture amid the gently flittering snow.

Brooklyn watched them quietly from the lakeside, and sighed.

"Wow… aren't they beautiful together?" Lexington appeared beside him and squatted down, looking out across the expanse. "It looks like one of those snow globe things."

"Yeah. Lovely." Brooklyn grumbled. "I hope you'll forgive me if I don't share your enthusiasm."

"You think that should be you, huh?"

"I wouldn't challenge him for her. He's my rookery brother." he assured, resting his beaked chin upon his hand. "It just seems I haven't had much luck with the ladies up to now."

Lex smiled, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, it's not like she's the last lady gargoyle on earth. You'll find one who's perfect for you."

"Heh, maybe if we go for a holiday to Japan or something."

"We can at least be happy for Broadway and Angela. They really seem to like each other." Lex leaned back, watching them. "I think it's kinda precious."

Brooklyn looked at him. "You know Lex, you're really weird sometimes."

His rookery brother shrugged. "Rather be weird, than miserable." He opened his mouth to say more, when his earpiece began sounding in his pocket. "Wha…? Something happen back at the castle?" he wondered aloud, pulling it out and putting it to his ear. "What's up, Goliath?" he waited a second for the response, and nodded as he received it. "Right…"

"What's happening?" Brooklyn asked. Lexington's expression seemed to say something was up.

"It's Owen," Lex said, wrapping his fist around the mouthpiece. "Something's happened with Xanatos and he can't find Goliath." Turning his palm open to speak to Owen again, he asked, "What's happened?"

"I must assume that Goliath has gone on an… excursion, with Miss Maza." Owen replied. "He has left his headset here, so I cannot contact him, and this cannot wait. I will be prepping a plane soon to take you to the Utah desert, where you will rendezvous with representatives of the Xanatos Utah Excavation Project. The flight will be approximately five hours, in his private Concorde. There will be a contingent of security personnel accompanying you."

"Can you throw me the headset, Lex?" Brooklyn asked. Lex complied happily; Brooklyn was the one to fill Goliath's shoes at the end of his time as clan leader, so there was no point squabbling.

"Owen, this is Brooklyn. What's happened to Xanatos?"

"Something very, very unpleasant has been found in the desert and Xanatos went to investigate earlier today. I have lost contact with the site, and I believe his life is in danger. I'm asking you, as his residents, to investigate and assist him. It is only early in the night now; once you arrive, you will still have at least six more hours to find out what has happened. When the sun rises again, you will be protected by our security forces."

Brooklyn gave a pensive growl, narrowing his eyes. "I don't like the sound of this at all. Goliath wouldn't leave the castle either, not without a good reason."

"I relieved him. He had a good enough reason tonight, as far as I'm concerned, though at this point I must say I quite regret that decision."

"Fine," the gargoyle rumbled. "We'll be at the airport in thirty minutes. This had better be worthwhile." He passed the headset back to Lexington, and nodded towards Brooklyn and Angela. "Grab those two. We're going on a little holiday."

--

It'd never really occurred to Elisa before how precarious it seemed for any creature or machine to defy gravity.

But now it was in her face -- it was her, versus a three hundred foot drop to being pavement pizza, with only a flimsy pair of wings to separate them. She stood at the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the city as it glowered and breathed even through the night, and suddenly felt more than a little nervous. A gust of wind caught her outstretched wings and she stumbled backwards, eyes wide.

"Uhh…" she mumbled, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…"

"You will see that it was, my dear, after you take flight." Goliath smiled, resting a hand on her back reassuringly. "You have done this before, remember? All it takes, is a little faith, and your instincts will take care of the rest."

She took a deep breath, and stepped back towards the lip of the building, but her heart caught in her throat again, making her freeze solid. "Oh, man… I know I've done this! I know it's easy! I just can't… make myself…"

"Ha!" Goliath gave her a hard shove, forcing her over the edge into a screaming free-fall. Elisa's mind turned end-on-end as she tumbled through the air, overcome with confusion, anger and panic, but as soon as she found herself at the right angle, her wings stretched out by impulse and sent her into a fast glide downwards. She angled up easily, and brought herself upwards. Within seconds her panic and frustration had given way to laughter.

"Damn you Goliath!" she shouted up to the rooftop, but she didn't see him there anymore. It was only when she looked back that she saw he'd followed her down, staying close at her back the whole time.

"You should know Elisa, that I'd never let you fall!" Goliath called out, overtaking her. "You see? All it took was that push, and now you soar like a dove!"

They swooped up, out from among the buildings, and took to higher in the sky. Soon, they'd gone clear of the Eyrie Building completely, now headed to the neighbourhood of Elisa's apartment.

"How does it feel?" He grinned.

The wind whipping around her body as she flew, fluttering freely to the left and right, was pure rapture. How miserable was it, to be tethered to the ground as she had been? As they all were, she wondered, looking down beneath her. The city sparkled through the haze of snow, a million tiny little fireflies crawling among the glowing towers. A mere hour hitherto, she'd been one of them. Now, she was more than that… she was… free.

"Oh, jalapeña… this is incredible!" she roared. "You know the one thing I regret about this, Goliath?"

"What is that?"

She gracefully angled herself upwards, to hover above him as they glided. "That I didn't do it sooner!"

"Then I am glad, Elisa." Goliath looked up at her. She lowered until she was right above him to rest her hands upon his waist, and leant down to give him a kiss on the cheek. The contact made his heart flutter, taking him by such surprise that he almost lost control and started veering out from under her. He shuddered a little, but stayed put, and together they moved among the clouds, four wings outstretched like that of a biplane.

"Heh… we're one." Elisa whispered, leaning down to say it in Goliath's ear.

He looked up at face hovering so close to his, and said, "I believe it was Luciano De Crescezno, who said that we are all angels with only one wing, and that we can only truly fly when we embrace each other."

"I don't know if that's true of gargoyles, if you can fly anyway…" she giggled.

Goliath took Elisa's hand, and held it to his heart. "It is true, in here."

Elisa ran a talon affectionately over the area. "Okay, big guy. That got me. Right now, I'm yours."

"Then I am glad for that, too." he laughed. They slowed and began to descend, coming upon one of the lower buildings, coming up faster and faster. "Now, how do you feel about landing?"

She said nothing to him, but separated him to swoop in upon the rooftop. She lifted up as she got close, using the light upward momentum to retract her wings and land neatly on solid ground. "Pretty good, I'd say."

"Hah… you're a natural!" the giant grunted as his feet touched the roof next to her, and he put one leg forward to stop himself from skidding. "With that said, I would say you've little need of further lessons, my dear."

She took his hand as they walked over to the edge of the roof. "I'd still like to have a few more with you… I might be getting the hang of this, but I feel safer with you around. Can we do this more?"

"It'd be a pleasure, Elisa." he said. They both looked up; somehow, they'd found themselves subconsciously headed for the old clock tower.

The building stretched over above them, lonely and decrepit, fresh with the scars of when the Canmores had destroyed it in a barrage of missile fire. Much of the random debris had been cleared, but the council had only just started making steps towards repairs. And below, of course, was the Police headquarters.

"I should drop in and pick up a few of the files I'd left in my--" Elisa started, but cut herself off when she realised what she was saying. "Oh, yeah. Right." She looked at her feet, wrapping her wings around herself, hands in the pockets of her jeans, now badly torn from her transformation.

She pulled something from her pocket, and stared at it. Goliath peered over her shoulder, and looked at her. "Your Police badge…"

"Mhm." She nodded wistfully. "I guess this doesn't mean much, now. Maybe this is what Puck was talking about, when he said there'd be a price."

"Nothing is without a price, Elisa." he said softly. "Every leap must be met with an impact of equal measure… it is the way of things."

"Yeah. I just hope it wasn't too big a leap for me to survive." Elisa peered over the edge, and saw a familiar figure standing on the front steps, his face lit up by the orange glow of a cigarette. "Huh… it's Morgan! Poor guy… stuck in the office on Christmas Eve. He'll have eight screaming brats waiting for him in the morning." She smiled faintly.

"Perhaps you should talk to him, explain what has happened…" Goliath suggested.

"I should…" she frowned, watching him pace slowly outside the building. "But… he doesn't know about gargoyles, except for what he's seen on TV. I don't know if he'd believe me, or shoot me."

"What about Bluestone? And Chavez? They will need to be informed, lest they begin to worry for you." he said.

She turned to look up at him. "You're right. If you don't mind, maybe we should get back to the castle to make some calls." With his nod, they prepared to take to the skies once again. "Man… no more Detective Maza. That's going to take some getting used to."

Goliath watched her carefully as they traveled. "Elisa Maza the Detective, may be no more. But now we have Elisa Maza, the protector of the night."

Elisa gave him a shy smile. "That's it." Turning away just a little to let her hair obscure her face, she added, "And… Goliath's Angel, of the night?"

A flash of Demona's face entered Goliath's mind. He frowned, facing forward, then turned to her. "Perhaps we both are angels. And that would make you my other wing."

She smiled at him, as Wyvern Castle came into view. Her smile didn't last for long. As they converged, an explosion atop the building shook them both to the core.

---

They both hit the battlements at full tilt, rolling to a stop behind cover and pressing themselves against the cold stone walls, now lit blood red by the fires that erupted around the castle courtyard.

"What the hell just happened here?" Elisa whispered quickly.

"More than an exploding generator, I'd wager." Goliath frowned, peeking out from behind cover. The courtyard was now filled with random pieces of stone and rubble, and a gaping, smoking hole opened the way inside the castle where the front door should have been. Someone had wanted to get in there badly.

Looking on, they saw a figure emerging from within, difficult to make out in the glare of the fire aside from his billowing trenchcoat. Owen followed, training a revolver, a .44 magnum, steadily upon the unwelcome guest's head.

Elisa scowled at the scene, shuffling from her position. "Goliath, we've got the drop on this guy. Let's go." She started to get up, but Goliath put a paw to her chest.

"No, wait." he said. "Let us listen in on their conversation first."

"For the last time, we do not keep any gargoyles here." Owen was shouting. "Now, I am legally within my bounds to kill you where you stand unless you leave."

"Do you take me for a dullard, pig? I know you and your precious boss here are stowing 'em."

"Look around you. Do you see any gargoyles here?"

"Where are you keeping 'em?"

Elisa looked at Goliath. "Where are the others?"

"Out on patrol," he said, still watching the exchange. "If this man is after us, he may leave if we keep out of sight."

"Then what?"

He grinned a sly grin at her. "Then, we follow." They turned their attention back to Owen and the visitor.

"I'll believe there are none here once I have torn every brick from the frame of this castle," he growled at Owen. "Now, out of my way--"

Without a moment's warning, Bronx came bounding from the shadows and tackled the intruder to the ground. The shotgun in his hand went off, sending a round up to the battlements where Goliath and Elisa were taking cover. A chunk of rock exploded next to Elisa's head from the impact, but she was safe behind the wall.

"Bronx, I told you to stay inside." Owen muttered, reaching into his pockets for a pair of handcuffs. "In any case, hold him down."

"I knew it!" the man shouted, and with seemingly inhuman strength, tossed the two-hundred kilogram gargoyle dog onto his back and leapt free, pumping a new round into the chamber of his shotgun, pointing it at Owen. "Now you are a lying pig, as well!"

His second round fired straight at Owen -- or it would have, if Elisa had not knocked the weapon clear from his hand. With a lash of her tail, she swept him off of his feet and drove his head into the hard pavement with her fist. There was a horrendous 'crunch' as the intruder's body slammed into the ground, but he was made of stern stuff, and was quick to scramble from underneath her and back to his feet.

It was only now, up close, that she saw he was wearing a mask, and it bore a familiar pattern of deep crimson slashes across the face; the mask of a Hunter.

Goliath got into a low crouch, preparing to pounce. "So… Jon Canmore, I presume." Both his and Elisa's eyes began to glow a dangerous, phosphorous white as they recognised him.

"You should've learned your lessons from before, beast, and stayed well clear of New York!" he snarled back. "You and your kind will pay with blood and torment for what you've done to me and my family."

"You are on a fool's errand, Hunter." Goliath told him, ever the diplomat. "Your motivations are based on self-delusion and fantasy. Your hatred has been bred into you! Do you not see that all of your tragedy has been written by your own hand? We are protectors, we do not seek to cause harm."

"Bud, what you need is some professional help," Elisa added. "Not revenge."

"You! You shut your filthy, lying mouth!" Jon screamed, pointing at Goliath. "And you…" he started, looking Elisa over. "I've not seen you before. But you do look so…" He stood for a moment, until it clicked, and he began to snigger, his cackling growing into an insane, taunting laugh. "Oh, my! Now I recognise you! Jason's old girl, am I right?"

"I was never his girl," she said brusquely.

She could see the sneer behind the mask. "I see you certainly aren't now! What are you then, you little gargoyle-loving harlot? Are you his bitch?" he cocked his head towards Goliath. "Are you?"

"Enough!" he roared, going into a full pounce at Canmore, eyes flaming white -- exactly the reaction Jon had hoped to provoke. He fired the underslung cannon on the shotgun, shooting a net that caught Goliath square, pinning him to the ground. "Ugh," he grunted, fumbling around in an attempt to cut through the tangle.

Elisa dodged around, and came from the opposite side as Bronx went to join in. Jon swung the weapon around at her, letting fly a volley of lead that nicked her in the arm. She came down on him with full force anyway, despite the searing pain in her shoulder, pinning him to the ground. Soon Bronx was upon him too, and between the two, they'd kept him secure; but with a free hand, the Hunter produced something from his pocket, flicking the pin free as he held it in Elisa's face.

She gasped, and looked at Bronx. "Flashbang…!"

The grenade exploded with a deafening 'crack' and 'bang' between the three of them, the hot blast knocking Elisa and Bronx clear of Canmore. The Gargoyle watchdog yipped and yelped as he scampered away to collide head-on with a wall, both blind and deaf from the explosion. Elisa didn't fare any better, stumbling drunkenly, with her paws cupped tightly to her ears. Her whole head and body was crippled with the confusion, and she sunk uneasily to her knees.

But the explosion had left Jon stunned as well, and Goliath was now free of the net. He sprinted towards the prone Hunter on all fours, letting out a war cry that shook the castle walls, and leapt upon his body. He ripped the mask from Canmore's face and with one swing after another, he pummelled his face with his fists, fuelled by adrenalin and blind rage.

"Urgh… stop…" he gurgled, blood bubbling from his lips in between beatings.

There was nothing else in the world now for Goliath, aside from his talons, Canmore's bloated, bruised body, and a flaming haze of red. "First, you seek to destroy my kind without provocation. Then you blame us for the injuries you've inflicted on your brother with your own callousness. Now, you come into MY home, to insult and attack my loved ones! You are the scourge of this Earth, vermin! In the early ages, I slaughtered men with more integrity without a second thought!"

Canmore looked up at him through the haze of blood and tears and snot, one badly bruised eye twitching uncontrollably from the beatings. "So what are you going to do now, monster?"

Goliath leaned right in until their noses touched. He spoke quietly, and slowly, watching the Hunter's eyes widen evermore with every word: "I'm going to reach into your chest and rip out that shrivelled, rotten little chunk of flesh that you call a heart. And I'm going to show it to you, so that it'll be the last thing you see... before you die."

He leaned back, and raised his arm high into the air, ready to make good on his promise.

He felt a talon gripped tightly around his wrist. "Goliath, don't!"

The beast turned his head sharply with a wild bay, eyes still ablaze with barely-contained fury, to see Elisa looking into them pleadingly. "Give me one good reason," he sneered raspingly, nostrils flaring.

"You might be able to kill Jon here, tonight." Elisa said. "But for every Hunter you kill, you make five more out of his friends and family. Murder won't ever help our cause, Goliath. Not ever…"

He looked at her, then down at the cowering human below him. Something that Elisa had said had struck a chord in him… the way she'd said 'our', instead of 'your' -- and so easily, like it'd never even crossed her mind that she could be seen as someone separate from the clan. It was… comforting, enough to tear his mind away from the burning craving for blood.

Goliath sighed, and rose to his feet. "As usual, Elisa, you are right… I will yield."

He turned back to the intruder. He carefully took Jon by the scruff of his coat, and shook hard until he tumbled out of it. Then he picked up the shotgun, grenades and other equipment, wrapped them up in the coat and tossed it over to land at Owen's feet.

"Now go home, Hunter. You have been defeated, and humiliated." He gave Canmore a shove in the back towards his hovercraft, which sat idle on the other side of the courtyard. "And never return to this place. If you provoke us again, there will be no mercy for you. Am I understood?"

The Hunter began limping painfully towards his ride, but took his time to turn and face Goliath one more time. "You haven't seen the last of me, demon. Go and live in fear, now. And when the sun rises, spare a thought that you may never see it set again."

"That thought is nothing new to me." Goliath folded his arms, and smirked. "We have better things to fear than a man crippled by his own hatred."

They watched the hovercraft take off, and when they were certain that it was out of sight, Goliath turned to Elisa. "You've been wounded."

"Nothing a good day's rest won't cure," she said, rubbing the graze on her shoulder. "So, what happens now?"

"I am not at all sure," Goliath said, turning to Owen, who was now calmly surveying the scene, and gathering some of the discarded equipment from the ground. "Have the others returned from their patrol at any point tonight?"

"Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington and your daughter are currently on a plane to Utah. They should be roughly half way there," Owen said.

Elisa stepped forward, scowling. "…what?"

"Aye. What, indeed…" A voice called out from the battlements. Hudson had arrived home from his visit, and looked around cautiously as he approached.

Owen turned on his heel to walk into the castle, headed for the elevator. "I will fill all three of you in on what has transpired, when we are safely inside," he spoke over his shoulder.

"Um… how you doing, Hudson?" Elisa looked at him sheepishly, suddenly feeling self-conscious as they followed.

"Huh…" He regarded her with a mixture of surprise, joy and confusion. "Where do I begin with my impressions? With the giant crater in our back yard, or the kindly lass who was human until this evening?"

"I will explain everything once we are inside," Owen repeated, now waiting for them inside the elevator.

Hudson frowned at him deeply. "It'd be in your good interests to do that."

---

Owen watched the steam from Hudson's cup of coffee slowly curling around his beard. He'd never expected to see a gargoyle indulging in such things. After all the strange and fanciful things he'd seen in Puck's shoes, it was only when he saw strange creatures doing such apparently normal things, that he became amused. However, he kept his feelings to himself, as was his custom.

Hudson quietly brooded over the hot mug, thinking over what he'd just been told.

"We need to get to this… Utah," he said after a while. "and help the clan…"

Goliath shook his head. "Brooklyn has proven an able leader in his own right. Under normal circumstances I would agree, but the Hunter's attack here has changed things. We cannot leave the castle unprotected."

"I think we're better off finding Jon ourselves, and taking him down before he has the chance to cause any more strife." Elisa said.

"Agreed." Owen said flatly. "Canmore is the only one who is acutely aware that this is your current roost. Even if he does not attack again immediately, he is prone to leaking information to your enemies."

Elisa's eyes narrowed. "And how, pray-tell, did he become 'acutely aware' that this was the gargoyles' home?"

"He discovered a skin fragment left from when the gargoyles were residing here previously. At the time he was using an alias, and we weren't aware of his true identity."

Goliath ran a claw over his face, and sighed. "And… you failed to tell us that one of our most potent and vengeful enemies, knows where we live."

"All information regarding the affairs that go on here, is by default issued on a need-to-know basis," Owen said offhandedly, now typing something into his computer.

Hudson rose out of his seat and planted a fist upon Owen's desk, his grey locks flicking out in front of his face. "And you think we need not know of threats to our lives?"

"Guys, cool it." Elisa said. "I'm not happy about this either. But we need to focus on what we do next. I'm going to call into work, and check what files we…" she stopped in mid-sentence when she realised what she was saying, and looked down at herself. "Oh, crap. There I go again."

She caught Goliath's gaze in her peripheral vision, and saw the sparkle of sympathy and concern in his eyes. Somewhere inside it angered her. She did not want sympathy. In her mind, she figured she shouldn't need it. She'd made the right choice by becoming what she was… hadn't she?

"I'll… get in contact with Matt," she said, reaching for Owen's phone and dialling the detective's home number and holding the phone to her ear. "And ask him to look for files on Canmore for us. If there's been any reported sightings of him since the whole… church thing, they'll be on file. It might at least give us a ballpark for where we should be looking for him."

Goliath nodded. "Good thinking, Elisa."

Matt picked up on the other end quickly: "Detective Matt Bluestone."

"Matt, it's Elisa."

"Elisa!" She could hear his music and people chattering in the background. "Where have you been tonight? You were supposed to be on duty with me!"

"There's no time to explain. I need you to do me a favour, get on the database at HQ and look someone up for me."

"Elisa, I'm at home. It's Christmas Eve. Don't you ever take a break?"

"Ugh…" She let out a laboured, impatient sigh. "Just do this thing for me, will you?"

She heard him speak to someone away from the phone, telling them he'd be with them in a moment. "Alright, who am I looking up?" he sighed.

"Jon Canmore. See if there's been any sightings or traces of him."

"Elisa," Matt said slowly, "Jonathan Canmore's dead. The report came in two days ago. Didn't you see it?"

Elisa's eyes widened. "Where did you get that from? He just attacked us tonight! We're lucky to be still standing here!"

"Whoa, whoa… who is 'us'? And where are you standing, exactly?"

"Look, just get me whatever might lead me to this guy." Elisa pleaded. "And do it quick. Please?"

"Elisa, this is bad. Come and meet me at the station, we need to talk about this face to face."

"No, we don't." she said quickly. "Just find out what you can. I'll give your office a buzz in an hour. I need you to be there, Matt."

"What the hell is going on, Elisa?" he half-shouted into the phone, no doubt turning a few heads in his apartment.

Her mind went blank with panic and guilt. She knew what she was putting him through, but her current physical and mental state had robbed her of the capacity for rational thought. "Uhm… I gotta go." She slammed the phone down onto the receiver and turned quickly, staring at the floor, holding a wrist limply in her hand.

She looked up through her loose, dark drapes of hair to Goliath for solace, but he was frowning at her with his arms folded, making her gaze immediately dart elsewhere.

"Elisa," he started, "Why did you not want to meet with him? He will be worried about you."

"I know! I know," she stammered back. "I just… I didn't want to frighten him. I know I just did now, but… I… oh, I don't know what I was thinking…" She flicked her gaze over to Owen, who was looking on with amused interest, making her discomfort deepen. "Can we go outside and get some air?"

"Very well…" Goliath curled his wings around himself, and began walking towards the door, Hudson and Elisa following awkwardly.

Owen waited a while, until they were gone. Smiling to himself mischievously, he reached for the phone.

---

Xanatos had not turned up to his excavation site expecting to see it shut down in its tracks.

He stepped out of the black sedan and under the bright spotlights of the front gate, and straightened his black coat out, looking out over the site. The clouds had set in thick tonight over the Utah desert, cloaking the land and sky in an impenetrable darkness.

In the place of what should've been a bustling hive of activity with forklifts, transport carts and workers running to and fro like crazed worker ants, there was only the deafening quiet -- and surely, no sound indicated trouble better than that of silence.

"Hm…" he stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment, considering where he should try first to piece together what had happened here.

It didn't take him long to arrive at a decision. There was one way to the answers he was after. Down.

He calmly strolled back over to his car and opened the trunk, where his Steel Clan Suit was waiting.


End file.
